@Phil ******
it was extremely easy. Did not hire an agent or attorney. I did it while being in Jomtien.
Went to bank (Bangkok Bank). Asked for info. They said:
Get the certificate of residence
From
immigration. I did.
For Bank:
400bht for atm card
5,900 1 yr accidental insurance.
Plus whatever amount you decide to put in acct. I believe min was 200bht. I put 500bht. If no activity in bank after 1 yr, you will be charged a fee.
Also, 1 or 2 photos required for bank.
Also, Driver’s License required.
Also, fill out paperwork regarding home country, residence, birth, ss# (country tax ID), address, income, education, etc. All info one should know.
I also needed to have a copy of passport (1 of entry stamp and other of front page of passport).
Needed 2 more passport pics for Immigration. Fees at immigration were very low. They have a photocopy shop across immigration (Jomtien). This process was also easy. Note, I had to have a proof of residence of place where I am staying. The landlord should provide this. All this can be done on average 2 days. I dressed appropriately while at immigration. I believe they opened at 9am. Once I submitted all the info to Immigration, they had me come back next day. I was there by 9am. They quickly attended me and gave me a number to return at 2pm. Once I returned at 2pm, I waited about 7 min and they gave me the certificate without saying a word (5 seconds). That was it.
Went to Bangkok bank and all worked out - no issues. Could deposit more money after I was done. The ATM was not taking deposits. I went somewhere else and made another deposit to confirm all was working. It did.
The PIN for ATM card they made me choose had to be 6 digits.
I may have left out something but overall it was all easy.